This invention relates to a latching device and particularly to one that is electrically operated to release a motor vehicle compartment panel from a closed position and further to pull down the panel against sealing gaskets when it is being closed.
As a convenience feature, motor vehicle manufacturers offer remote control release mechanisms for their vehicles' rear compartment panels which may be in the form of a metal deck lid or rear window backlite. These devices permit the operator to unlatch the compartment panel from the passenger compartment without having to exit the vehicle and release the closure externally. Numerous designs for such devices are presently known and are typically energized by an electrical solenoid.
Vehicle manufacturers take steps to insure that vehicle rear compartments do not leak water, dust and vapors into the vehicle. In order to prevent such leakage, a weather strip or sealing gasket is provided which encircles the rear compartment opening. The performance of the seal is partly dependent upon its degree of compression when the compartment panel is closed against it. Therefore, in order to provide good protection against leakage, significant compression of the seal is required which leads to high closing loads necessary to shut the compartment panel. Closing effort is further increased when the sealing gasket length is large, for example when large area backlites are involved. The requirement of high closing effort is an inconvenience for the user and leads to slamming of the compartment panel causing a "boom" within the vehicle which may be annoying to the occupants.
In view of the foregoing considerations, motor vehicle manufacturers frequently provide a remote release device and a power pull-down unit for the rear compartment panel. The remote release device allows the panel to be unlatched from inside the vehicle, and the pull-down unit enables the user to gently close the panel against the unit where it is engaged and driven to securely close against the sealing gaskets. Remote release devices and pull-down mechanisms are typically provided as individual units and, in combination, can be quite cumbersome, heavy and expensive, since the units must be separately assembled, stocked and handled, and require their own control systems and electrical actuators.